No. 3 CSM defeats state’s top softball teams

The College of San Mateo women’s softball team has achieved several state milestones over the past ten days to challenge for top state ranking:

–Blanking then No. 1 ranked (in state) College of the Siskiyous, 2-0

–Beating No.4 Sierra, 8-5 — and then moving up to No. 3 in the latest state poll (Feb. 27).

–Beating No. 10 Feather River, 3-1, on Saturday to become the first of California’s 85 teams to win 20 games this season. CSM is now 21-3 after taking the second game with Feather River, 5-4.

NAVARO’S HOMERS PACE SATURDAY SWEEP OF NO. 10 FEATHER RIVER:

Capuchino High grad Jamie Navarro was the star of Saturday’s sweep of Feather River, which came in with an 8-1 record. She hit towering solo home runs out of the park in both games and scored the walkoff run (on a bases loaded bunt by Mikayla Conlin) in the seventh inning of the nightcap.

Navarro scored four runs in the two games to give her the state season lead with 29. She also had four hits to increase her total to 30, No. 6 in the state. Navarro now has four home runs (No. 12 in the state). Both of Saturday’s homers came with two outs in the bottom of the third inning and also tied the score at 1-1 after Feather River had taken the initial lead in both games.

Michele Pilster got both wins, the second in relief, to up her season record to 13-2 – the most wins by a Northern California player and second in the state. Also a freshman out of Capuchino, Pilster had seven strikeouts to increase her season total to 87 and rank fourth in the state.

Including Friday’s 24-0 win over City College of San Francisco, Navarro scored eight runs and had seven hits in two days.

CSM BEAT STATE’S NO. 1 TEAM: The Bulldogs moved-up from No. 5 to No. 3 in last week’s state poll after giving Siskiyous its first loss of the year and dropping the Eagles (from Weed) to No. 2. That enabled undefeated College of the Canyons (12-0) of Valencia in Southern California to move up from No. 3 to No. 1. Pollsters still left CSM a spot behind Siskiyous, however.

Under the shroud of former Coach Tom Martinez, the Bulldogs dropped their conference opener at De Anza, 3-2, just a few hours after his death on Feb. 21. During the memorial for Martinez on that Friday afternoon (Feb. 24), however, they rebounded to blank No. 1 Siskiyous.